Ross Levinsohn

Yahoo has hired former Fox Interactive Media president Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo company announced yesterday.

Starting in November, Levinsohn will become Yahoo's executive vice president of the Americas. In his new role, Levinsohn will be in charge of the Web giant's "media group, advertising sales, and partnerships," the company said in a statement. He will report directly to Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz.

Levinsohn will leave his current position as co-founder and managing director of equity management firm Fuse Capital.

Although Levinsohn of late has been on the investment side of the digital media business, he has lots of hands-on experience to draw on. He played an integral role in News Corp.'s acquisition of social network MySpace when he was president of Fox Interactive Media. He also oversaw Fox Interactive Media's highly lucrative 2006 advertising deal with Google. Prior to joining Fox, he held management positions at AltaVista, CBS Sportsline, and HBO.

Yahoo currently finds itself in an interesting position. Earlier this month, rumors started surfacing that Yahoo was being courted by several firms, including AOL and News Corp., looking to acquire the company. Those rumors have since died down. And with Levinsohn's arrival at Yahoo, it seems the company might be planning to try its own luck online.